THE GREAT TEMPLE AT SALT LAKE CITY--INTERIOR
{181} _The Temple Annex_: While there are four doorways leading into
the Temple directly from the outside, the usual entrance is through the
detached building known as the Annex. Under ordinary conditions only
Church authorities who assemble in council meetings enter by the outer
doors, though on the rare occasions of special convocations of the
Priesthood many pass those portals.
The Annex is entered on the ground-level through a spacious vestibule,
eighteen by twenty-one feet, with wave-glass on three of its sides. The
floor is of mosaic tiling, bordered with marble blocks. This ante-room
is supplied with steam heat and serves the incidental purposes of a
cloak room. At the Annex door stand two large columns of marble mosaic,
and in contact with the adjoining walls are two other columns, of the
same material and of corresponding design. Within the Annex on this
floor there are well-equipped office rooms, with desk facilities for
the extensive routine work of registration and record.
The main apartment, however, is the Annex Assembly Room. This occupies
the central part of the building, and has seating capacity for three
hundred persons. The room consists of a central area thirty-six feet
square, with a semi-circular alcove of nine feet radius at both north
and south sides. The north alcove is occupied by a platform or stand,
raised ten inches above the floor, and {182} is furnished with a
small lectern. The central body of the room has an imposing column
of Corinthian design in each of its four corners; these columns rest
upon massive pedestals and extend to the ceiling. Small columns of
similar design support the arches which divide the alcoves from the
main auditorium. Over the arches at the north end appear portraits of
the living First Presidency; and around the walls are portraits of
the present Council of the Twelve Apostles, arranged in the order of
seniority of ordination. Within the alcoves hang the portraits of the
dead,--at the north those of past members of the First Presidency, and
in the south recess, those of Apostles now deceased. On the west wall
is a full-size reproduction of Munkacsy's famous canvas, "Christ before
Pilate"; this copy is the work of Dan Weggeland, one of Utah's veteran
artists. The ceiling is formed by the intersection of four arches,
producing a quadruple groin structure. Each of the four lunettes is
occupied by triple series of arched windows consisting of colored glass
in simple design.
On the west side of the building is a small refectory where a noon-day
lunch is served to recorders and other officials on duty for the day. A
stairway leads to the basement, which is occupied by storage rooms and
lavatories.
_The Annex Passage_: The foot of the stairway marks the beginning
of a semi-subterranean passage, which runs south ninety feet to the
Temple wall. This passage receives air and natural light through side
windows in three large ventilator cupolas which rise six feet above
the ground. Artificial illumination is supplied by three electroliers,
each holding twelve globes. Near the south {183} end is the entrance to
a side corridor leading to machine rooms in which is installed a very
efficient apparatus for vacuum cleaning; this is connected with every
room in the Temple.[1] The passage terminates at the foot of a short
flight of granite steps--at the centre of the north wall of the main
structure. The top of these steps marks the threshold of the Temple.
Heavy doors divide the Annex from the Temple.
_The Lower Corridor_: The doorway from the annex passage opens directly
into the lower corridor of the Temple. This extends entirely across
the building, from north to south, and is a little over twelve feet in
width. The floor is richly carpeted, the walls are finely finished,
and the corridor as a whole presents an imposing contrast with the
exceedingly plain passage without. The walls are embellished with large
paintings, the chief of which is a canvas fifteen by thirteen feet,
showing Joseph Smith preaching to the Indian tribes of the east. At
the north end is a drinking fountain of Utah onyx--one of many of this
unique design distributed throughout the building.
_The Baptistry_: West from the lower corridor, and occupying the
central third of the entire floor on that side, is the baptismal
room, in which stands the great font. This apartment is thirty-two by
forty-five feet, and is floored with white marble. A ten-inch wainscot
of the same material extends along each wall, with grained wood-work
above. The walls are virtually a succession {184} of double doors,
of which the lower half is of paneled wood, and the upper of pebbled
glass. Each doorway is arched, and carries a large semi-circular
transom with a central aperture occupied by an open grill of metal.
Of these doors there are six pairs on both north and south sides, and
two pairs on both east and west. There are twenty-six fluted pilasters
around the walls, each extending from floor to ceiling. The only
natural light the room receives is borrowed from windows without; but
abundant artificial light is supplied by a large central electrolier
and numerous side lamps.
The baptismal font is, of course, the most prominent feature of the
room. To provide for the font, a depression or well has been excavated
to a depth of three feet below the floor level. This well, tiled with
marble, is circular, twenty-one feet in diameter, and is surrounded
by an ornamental iron railing two feet high. In this depression stand
twelve, life-sized oxen, of cast iron, with bronzed bodies and silvered
horns. The oxen face outward in groups of three and support the massive
font.[2] The font is of cast iron enameled in white, elliptical in
form, of ten and six feet in its longer and shorter axes respectively,
and four feet deep; its capacity is over four hundred gallons. The rim
is reached by a flight of seven steps at either end, with balustrade
and top-rail of iron; five inside steps at either end provide for
descent into the font. Facilities for quickly replenishing and renewing
hot and cold water in the font are adequate and efficient, and due
attention has been given to ventilation and sanitary requirements
throughout.
{185} The landing at the top of the steps on the west end of the
font expands into two small platforms, one at either side; these are
enclosed by extensions of the balustrades. On the south side is a small
table for the use of the recorder, and on the north are seats for the
witnesses whose presence is essential at every baptism performed in
behalf of the dead[3]
The placing of the baptistry on the lower or basement floor was not
a matter of mere convenience. Most of the baptisms performed within
the Temple are in behalf of the dead, and the symbolism of the font
location is set forth by authority:
"The baptismal font was instituted as a simile of the grave, and
was commanded to be in a place underneath where the living are wont
to assemble, to show forth the living and the dead."[4]
On the north side of the baptistry is a large room divided into a
number of apartments used as dressing rooms and in which are performed
certain ordinances of anointing, for men. A similar arrangement
for women exists on the south side. In these ceremonies only women
administer to women, and men to men.
_The Lower Lecture Room:_ On the east of the lower corridor are two
assembly rooms. The first of these is about forty by forty-five feet,
and is finished and furnished in great plainness. Its walls are without
ornament; and, except for the six electroliers, the only approach to
decorative embellishment is a drinking fountain of variegated marble
and onyx on the south side. The {186} room is comfortably carpeted but
in marked simplicity,--without a suggestion of bright color. The seats
are folding lecture chairs, of plain design, and provision is made
for two hundred and fifty persons. This room is used for preliminary
instruction purposes, and may be called for convenience the Lower
Lecture Room.
_The Garden Room:_ In striking contrast with the room last described is
the apartment on the south, entered from the lecture room by an arched
doorway hung with portieres. While of about the same size as the room
described, and seated to accommodate the same number of persons, in
all its appointments it is of more elaborate design. Ceiling and walls
are embellished with oil paintings--the former to represent clouds and
sky, with sun and moon and stars; the latter showing landscape scenes
of rare beauty. There are sylvan grottoes and mossy dells, lakelets and
brooks, waterfalls and rivulets, trees, vines and flowers, insects,
birds and beasts, in short, the earth beautiful,--as it was before the
Fall. It may be called the Garden of Eden Room, for in every part and
appurtenance it speaks of sweet content and blessed repose. There is
no suggestion of disturbance, enmity or hostility; the beasts are at
peace and the birds live in amity. In the centre of the south wall, is
a platform and an altar of prayer, reached by three steps. The altar is
upholstered in velvet, and on it rests the Holy Bible. On the sides of
the altar are large doorways opening directly into a conservatory of
living plants.
_The Grand Stairway_ starts near the south end of the lower corridor
already described. It is provided with a stately newel post and a
massive balustrade, both of solid cherry. This stairway comprises
thirty-five steps with {187} three landings, and at its top is the
upper corridor, running forty feet north and south. A large canvas
depicting the resurrected Christ instructing the Nephites on the
western continent occupies twenty feet of wall space on the east of
this corridor; and smaller paintings adorn the other walls.
_The World Room:_ Leading off to the west from the first landing
below the top of the grand stairway is a side corridor nine feet wide
and fifteen feet long. This contains an art window in rich colors,
elliptical in form, about ten feet in height, depicting the expulsion
from Eden. It is of special significance in the journey from the Garden
Room below to the symbolical apartment into which this side passage
leads. At either end the corridor terminates in an arch way; between
these the ceiling is of fine panel work. The room is of equal size with
those below, forty-five by forty feet. It is carpeted in rich brown,
and is seated in the usual way. At the west end is an upholstered
prayer altar, on which are placed in readiness for use the Holy
Scriptures. Near the altar is a stairway leading to a small waiting
room adjoining the elevator landing.
The walls are entirely covered with scenic paintings and the ceiling
is pictured to represent sky and cloud. The earth scenes are in
strong contrast with those in the Garden Room below. Here the rocks
are rent and riven; the earth-story is that of mountain uplift and
seismic disruption. Beasts are contending in deadly strife, or
engaged in murderous attack, or already rending their prey. The more
timorous creatures are fleeing from their ravenous foes or cowering in
half-concealed retreats. There are lions in combat, a tiger gloating
over a fallen {188} deer, wolves and foxes in hungry search. Birds of
prey are slaying or being slain. On the summit of a rugged cliff is an
eagle's eyrie, the mother and her brood watching the approach of the
male bird holding a lambkin in his claws. All the forest folk and the
wild things of the mountain are living under the ever-present menace of
death, and it is by death they live. The trees are gnarled, misshapen,
and blasted; shrubs maintain a precarious root-hold in rocky clefts;
thorns, thistles, cacti, and noxious weeds abound; and in one quarter a
destructive storm is raging.
The scenes are typical of the world's condition under the curse of God.
Nevertheless there is a certain weird attractiveness in the scenes and
in their suggestiveness. The story is that of struggle and strife; of
victory and triumph or of defeat and death. From Eden man has been
driven out to meet contention, to struggle with difficulties, to live
by strife and sweat. This chamber may well be known as the room of the
fallen world, or more briefly, the World Room.
_The Terrestrial Room:_ From the north-west corner of the room last
described is a large door-way leading into another apartment, lofty,
spacious, and beautiful. Its general effect is that of combined
richness and simplicity. Following the elaborate decoration of the
World Room, this is restful in its soft coloring and air of comfort.
The carpet is of lavender velvet woven with simple figures. The walls
are of pale blue, the ceiling and woodwork of white with trimmings
in gold. At the west end is a large mirror framed in white and gold.
The chairs are upholstered to harmonize with the floor-covering.
From the paneled ceiling hang three electroliers, {189} massive, yet
simple, holding opaline globes. Two sets of conical shades enclosing
incandescent bulbs occupy circular recesses in the ceiling, and
torch-shaped brackets supporting additional lamps are affixed to the
wall pilasters. A few framed canvases hang from the walls, the largest
of which is the original painting by Girard--Joseph interpreting the
dreams of the butler and baker. Other pictures are delineations of
incidents in the life of Christ and scenes in Bible lands.
An upholstered altar stands near the east end of the room, with copies
of sacred writ in place. In this room, lectures are given pertaining
to the endowments and emphasizing the practical duties of a religious
life. It is therefore commonly known as the upper lecture room, but in
view of its relation to the room that follows, we may for convenience
designate it the Terrestrial Room. At the east end is a raised floor
reached by three steps, across which springs an arch of thirty feet
span. The arch is supported by five columns between which hangs a
silken portiere in four sections. This is the Veil of the Temple.
_The Celestial Room:_ From the room last described to the one now under
consideration the passage leads through the Veil. This is a large and
lofty apartment about sixty by forty-five feet in area and thirty-four
feet in height, occupying the northeast section of the building on this
floor. In finish and furnishings it is the grandest of all the large
rooms within the walls. If the last room described could be considered
typical of the terrestrial state, this is suggestive of conditions yet
more exalted; and it may appropriately be called the Celestial Room.
The west end is occupied wholly by the Veil. {190} The east wall is in
part taken up by two triple mirrors, thirteen feet high; the central
section of each is three feet eight inches wide, and the side sections
each three feet in width. Along the walls are twenty-two columns in
pairs, with Corinthian caps; these support entablatures from which
spring ten arches, four on either side and one at each end. Within the
recesses formed by these arches and suspended from the wall-columns,
are paintings and busts of past and living leaders of the Church, and
canvases depicting scenes in Bible lands and incidents of interest
in Church history. Prominent among these are paintings by Lambourne,
showing the Hill Cumorah[5] and Adam-ondi-Ahman.[6] Choice canvases
illustrative of scenes in the life of Christ and small statuary are
disposed with excellent effect about the room. The ceiling is a
combination of vault and panel construction elaborately finished.
Massive cornices and beams separating the ceiling panels are richly
embellished with clusters of fruit and flowers. The color scheme of the
walls is soft brown relieved by the light blue of the fluted columns
and by abundant trimmings in gold. Eight electroliers with shades
of richly finished glass depend from the ceiling, and each of the
twenty-two columns holds a bracket of lights in corresponding design.
A newel-post at the east bears a flower-cluster of colored globes with
an artistic support in bronze. The floor is covered by a heavy carpet
and the movable furniture is all of rich yet appropriate design. Palms
and other living plants are held in shapely jardinieres of finest ware.
At the east is a short flight of {191} stairs leading into an office
reserved for the president of the Temple.
Each of the four arched-window recesses in the north is framed by
draped curtains of silk, which in material and design match the Veil.
On the south side are four pairs of double doors in position and size
symmetrically corresponding with the windows on the north. The portal
at the south-west, which is fitted with swinging doors, opens directly
into the upper corridor at the head of the grand stairway already
described; each of the three other portals is fitted with sliding
doors, and opens into a separate apartment slightly raised above the
floor of the large room, and reserved for special ceremonial work, more
specifically described beyond.
_Sealing Room for the Dead:_ The first of these three small rooms is
about ten by thirteen feet in the square with a semi-circular recess
five feet deep on the south side. This room is raised two steps above
the main floor. In the wall of this recess is a bay art window of
stained glass, representing with effective and impressing detail the
resurrected prophet Moroni delivering the plates of the Book of Mormon
to the youthful seer, Joseph Smith. It is a fitting symbol of the
actuality of communication between the dead and the living; and it is
to ordinances pertaining to this relationship the room is devoted;
this is the Sealing Room for the Dead. The west wall is occupied by a
large mirror. In the center stands a richly upholstered altar finished
in old-rose velvet and gold. The altar is six by three feet six inches
at its base and two feet six inches in height. Here kneel in humble
service the living proxies representing deceased husbands and wives,
parents and children. The only other furniture {192} consists of chairs
for the officiating elder, the witnesses, and persons awaiting the
ordinances at the altar.
_Sealing Room for the Living:_ The easterly room of the three is in
size and shape a counterpart of the last described. Its finishing,
however, is in brighter tone; the altar and chairs are upholstered in
crimson velvet, and the walls are of light tint. A mirror extends from
floor to ceiling on the east wall. This is the Sealing Room for the
Living. Here is solemnized the sacred ordinance of marriage between
parties who come to plight their vows of marital fidelity for time and
eternity, and to receive the seal of the eternal Priesthood upon their
union. Here also are performed the ordinances of sealing or adoption
of living children by their parents who were not at first united in
the order of celestial marriage.[7] On the south side of this room is
a door with transom and side panels of jeweled glass in floral design,
leading into a reception room which is provided for the accommodation
of parties awaiting the sealing ordinance. This room connects on the
west by a short passage with a smaller apartment,--another waiting
room, and this in turn opens upon the upper corridor at the head of the
grand stairway.
_The Holy of Holies:_ The central of the three small apartments
connected with the Celestial Room,--situated therefore between the
Sealing Room for the Living and Sealing Room for the Dead,--is of
all the smaller apartments within the Temple walls by far the most
beautiful. Yet its excellence is that of splendid simplicity rather
than of sumptuous splendor. It is raised above the other two rooms
and is reached by an additional flight of six steps inside the
sliding doors. The short staircase is bordered {193} by hand-carved
balustrades, which terminate in a pair of newel-posts bearing bronze
figures symbolical of innocent childhood; these support flower
clusters, each jeweled blossom enclosing an electric bulb. On the
landing at the head of the steps is another archway, beneath which are
sliding doors; these doors mark the threshold of the inner room or Holy
of Holies of the Temple, and correspond to the inner curtain or veil
that shielded from public view the most sacred precincts of Tabernacle
and Temple in the earlier dispensations.
The floor is of native hard-wood blocks, each an inch in cross-section.
The room is of circular outline, eighteen feet in diameter, with
paneled walls, the panels separated by carved pillars supporting
arches; it is decorated in blue and gold. The entrance doorway and
the panels are framed in red velvet with an outer border finished in
gold. Four wall niches, bordered in crimson and gold, have a deep blue
background, and within these are tall vases holding flowers. The room
is practically without natural light, but it is brilliantly illumined
by a large electrolier and eight side clusters of lamps. The ceiling is
a dome in which are set circular and semicircular windows of jeweled
glass, and on the outer side of these, therefore above the ceiling, are
electric globes whose light penetrates into the room in countless hues
of subdued intensity.
On the south side of this room, opposite the entrance doorway, and
corresponding in size therewith, is a window of colored glass depicting
the appearance of the Eternal Father and His Son Jesus Christ to the
boy Joseph Smith. The event here delineated marked the ushering-in of
the dispensation of the fulness of times. {194} The scene is laid in
a grove; the celestial Personages are clothed in white, and appear in
the attitude of instructing the boy prophet, who kneels with uplifted
face and outstretched arms. Beneath is inscribed the scriptures through
which Joseph was led to seek Divine instruction:
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all
men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."
And Below:
"This is my beloved Son, hear Him."
This room is reserved for the higher ordinances in the Priesthood
relating to the exaltation of both living and dead.
_Dome Room:_ Near the landing of the granite stairway in the
southeast tower on the third floor, is the entrance to the large
Dome Room, thirty-nine by forty-four feet. On the south side are
three oval windows, and opposite these on the north are semi-discs
of pebbled glass looking down into the Celestial Room and set in the
arches thereof. In the center appears a large dome, fifty-one feet
in circumference at its base and seven feet high. This is set with
seventeen jeweled windows and may be readily recognized as the ceiling
of the Holy of Holies already described as a prominent feature of the
second floor. In each of these windows electric bulbs are placed,
and it is from these the room below derives its beauty of ceiling
illumination and coloring. The walls are hung with portraits of Church
authorities. No specific ordinance work belongs to this apartment. At
the northwest corner this room opens into a hall or corridor {195}
seventy-five feet long, eight feet wide throughout the first fifteen
feet of its extent, and ten feet wide for the rest of its course. From
the corridor rooms open on either side.
_The Elders' Room_ is the first apartment on the south side of the
corridor, west from the Dome Room. It is thirty-one by thirteen feet
and is lighted by one oval window. The furniture consists of an altar
for prayer, chairs and a table. The room is reserved for council and
prayer by the several quorums of elders within the Salt Lake City
stakes, each body having the right of occupancy within specified times.
_The Council Room of the Twelve Apostles_ lies to the west from
the last, on the south side of the corridor. This is twenty-eight
by twenty-nine feet, and has two oval windows on the south. It is
furnished with twelve chairs of oak upholstered in leather, other
chairs for recorders or clerks, desks, table, and altar. On the walls
are seen portraits of latter-day Apostles now living. Adjoining this
chamber is an ante-room fourteen by twenty-one feet.
_The Council Room of the Seventy_ is entered from the corridor near its
westerly termination. The room is twenty-eight by fourteen feet, and
has one oval window on the south side. This chamber is reserved for the
use of the First Seven Presidents of the Seventies, or more accurately
stated, the First Council of the Seventy. It is furnished for its
purpose with seven chairs of a kind, an extra chair for the recorder or
clerk, a table and a prayer altar.
_The Council Room of the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles_ is
situated on the north side of the corridor, and with its ante-room
occupies the greater part {196} of that side. The main apartment is
forty by twenty-eight feet. In the center is a prayer altar of white
wood upholstered in crimson velvet. Twelve large upholstered chairs of
oak are arranged in three quadrants of a circle around the altar. The
other quadrant is occupied by a table, behind which are three chairs
of a kind for the three presiding high priests who constitute the
First Presidency of the Church, and another chair for the Presiding
Patriarch. These pieces, with desk, table, and chair for the use of
the recorder, constitute the essential furniture of the room; all
additional pieces are decorative. The walls support several fine
paintings, among which are two canvases depicting the descent from the
cross, one of the burial of the crucified Christ, and others of scenes
in the life of the Savior. Beside these there are original canvases
showing landscape scenes of interest in the history of the restored
Church.
The ante-room to this chamber is sixteen by fourteen feet. On the north
side is seen a commemorative window of colored glass, presenting in the
central panel a splendid picture of the finished Temple, above which
appears the sacred inscription, "Holiness to the Lord." Each of the
side panels presents an escutcheon with scroll and inscriptions.[8]
_The High Council Room:_ Immediately north from the ante-room to the
chamber reserved for the First Presidency and the Twelve Apostles, is a
room twenty-five by sixteen feet, allotted to the use of the Presidency
and High Council of each of {197} the stakes of Zion included within
this district. The occupancy of this room is regulated by rule, and the
presiding bodies of each of the stakes concerned have access thereto
at appointed times, specifically for devotional service. In business
session these organizations meet elsewhere, not in the Temple. The room
is furnished with the requisite number of chairs, a table, a desk, and
an altar.
_The Main Assembly Room_, which with its vestries and the end corridors
occupies the whole of the fourth floor, is one hundred and twenty
by eighty feet in area, and thirty-six feet in height. A commodious
gallery extends along both sides, and but for the space occupied by the
stands, includes the ends. At either end of this great auditorium is a
spacious stand,--a terraced platform,--a multiple series of pulpits.
The two are alike as to finish and furniture; a description of one will
serve for both.
The stand comprises four terraces, the lowest of which is one foot
above the floor, while each of the other three has a rise of two feet.
On each of the lower three terraces is a settee or dais eighteen feet
long; the upper terrace is furnished with a settee eight feet long for
the seating of the president and his two counselors. On each terrace
is a central lectern, with a smaller desk of corresponding design on
either side. All the woodwork on these terraced platforms is hand
carved, and is finished in white and gold.
The upper stand at either end of the room is covered by a canopy,
supported by columns, and bearing on its front the designation of the
order of Priesthood to which the end is devoted. The stand at the
west end is inscribed "Aaronic Priesthood," and the one at the east,
"Melchisedek Priesthood." It will be remembered in connection with the
description of the Temple exterior that the {198} towers at the east
rise to a greater height than do those at the west. It is now seen that
this difference is in accordance with the graded orders of Priesthood,
stationed within, the Higher at the east and the Lesser at the west.
Flanking the official stands at either end of this auditorium are seats
for officials in the Priesthood not directly called to officiate in
the services of the day. The gallery and the wings of the stands are
furnished with folding chairs; the seats belonging to the body of the
auditorium are of reversible construction, so that the auditors may
face the stand in which the Priesthood officiating on the occasion
belongs.
This great room is finished in white and gold. From the paneled ceiling
large electroliers depend, and these with the cornice lights present
a total of three hundred and four electric globes. In the rear of
each stand are commodious vestries with entrances on either side. In
each corner of this imposing auditorium, is a spiral stairway leading
to the gallery; the stairway is of graceful design with hand-carved
embellishments.
_The Upper floors_: Above the level of the main assembly room with its
accessories, there are no rooms. The next floor has an elevator landing
at the west and a cross-corridor connecting the two corner towers at
both the east and west ends of the Temple, but these are all. The next
landing is on a level with the roof of the Temple, above which are only
spires and finials.
_The Four Granite Stairways_: In each of the four corner towers is a
stairway leading from basement to roof, each and every step of solid
granite. The stairs are attached to a central column of granite four
feet in diameter, and every step is set and anchored to withstand for
{199} ages any and all ordinary loosening by time. In each of these
four corner stairways there are one hundred and seventy-seven steps,
a total of seven hundred and eight in all. Each step is six feet long
with an insert of three inches at either end; at the narrow end each
step is five inches wide, and at the other end twenty inches; the steps
present a projecting tread of one inch and a half. There are broad
landings at convenient intervals in the long spiral. Each complete step
weighs over seventeen hundred pounds, and the aggregate weight of the
granite in the four stairways is over one and a quarter million pounds.
On each floor is a cross corridor ten feet in width, running north and
south, connecting the tower stairways. At the west end of the structure
are two commodious elevators running in separate shafts of granite from
basement to roof. At first hydraulic elevators were installed, but
these have been replaced by automatic electric lifts.
Be it remembered that the Temple has been built not for the present
alone. In structure it is stable and of the best construction skill
and devotion could achieve. In the interior its appearance is strictly
in keeping with the stability of the walls and in harmony with the
impressive and imposing appearance presented without. In no part is
there evidence of hurried plan or careless execution. Even the attic
rooms and muniments--but seldom used--are well and fully furnished.
However, the Temple is not beautified throughout with equal
elaboration. There has been no lavish nor unnecessary expenditure
in embellishment. The predominating intent has been that of
appropriateness. There are many rooms of plain design, furnished in but
simple style; {200} there are others in which no effort has been spared
nor cost considered to secure the essentials of grandeur and sublimity.
In no part is there a hint of incompleteness; nowhere is there a
suggestion of the excessively ornate. Every room has been planned and
constructed for a definite purpose, and both finished and furnished in
strict accordance therewith. Within this, the greatest Temple of the
present dispensation, there is no mere display, no wasting of material,
no over-ornamentation. The Temple has been planned and built as was
believed to be most appropriate to
_The House of the Lord_.
FOOTNOTES
1. Prior to 1911 the Temple was supplied with heat and light from its
own boilers and dynamos; and during that period electric generators
were operated in these rooms. Steam and electricity are now furnished
from a central plant situated immediately west of the Temple Block. See
chapter IX.
2. Compare with the "molten sea" in the Temple of Solomon, I Kings
7:23-26; II Chron. 4:3-5.
3. See Doctrine and Covenants, section 128.
4. Doctrine and Covenants. 128:13.
5. See "The Articles of Faith," XIV:1-3.
6. See Doctrine and Covenants, section 116.
7. See page 105.
8. See page 137.